If I Lay Here
by singyourheartout287
Summary: The first time Kurt and Blaine say "I love you" isn't in the middle of the Lima Bean. Instead, it's alone. It's sweet. It's perfect.


When Blaine calls Kurt at 7:15 in the morning on a Saturday with an excited rush to his voice that Kurt knows is from at least two cups of coffee, Kurt can't help but smile as he climbs out of the comfort of his bed to shower and get dressed. Blaine doesn't give him many details, but that's not a surprise. Blaine is often a mysteriously spontaneous person. He probably woke up early, thought of something for them to do that day in the shower, and immediately called Kurt about it.

"Oh my god, you're the best," Kurt breathes out as he slips into the passenger seat, taking the giant cup of coffee Blaine is holding out to him.

Blaine laughs and grins at him, eyes bright. "Good morning to you too!"

"Yeah; good morning; it's good to see you; coffee."

Blaine laughs again, shaking his head as he puts the car in drive and heads off down the street.

Kurt doesn't think to ask where they're going until thirty minutes into the drive, but even then he doesn't voice his question. The thing is, he doesn't mind. Wherever Blaine is taking him, it doesn't matter. What matters is the playlist Blaine has created with all of the perfect songs for the mood, and the feel of Blaine's warm and strong fingers laced through his, and the way Blaine squeezes his hand as they sing together when he sings a particular line. The sun shines brightly in through the windows, and when Kurt glances over at Blaine, he can't help but lose track of the song and grin. When Kurt stops singing, Blaine glances at him—catching him smiling—and simply smiles back.

After they've been driving for just over an hour, Kurt finally turns down the music and asks, "Blaine, where on earth are we going?"

"You'll see," Blaine says, keeping his eyes on the road as he smirks.

"Are we running away together?" Kurt asks.

"Would you run away with me?" Blaine replies.

"Probably."

"Then, sure. We're running away together."

Kurt gets that swoop in his stomach he gets every time he's around Blaine now. He ducks his head to hide his blush, but when Blaine squeezes his hand, he knows he hasn't gotten away with it. Then, he thinks, it doesn't matter. Blaine has seen him blush countless times. Kurt has nothing to hide from him.

They pull over into a rest stop to go to the restroom and pick up a few snacks a half hour later. Blaine decides it'll be fun for them to go to different vending machines and each get one thing for the other person, just to make sure they know what they both like. So Kurt goes and gets Blaine some peanut M&Ms and when they meet in the middle and Blaine holds out a package of peach fruit snacks, Kurt grins from ear to ear. Because Blaine knows him, and Kurt knows Blaine, and they've reached this new level of comfort and intimacy in their relationship recently that makes Kurt feel like his heart is beating in every part of his body.

After another half hour, they finally get off the highway and start driving around in a town. Kurt notes the signs on local businesses and figures out where they are.

"Sandusky? What are we doing here?"

Blaine shrugs. "I don't know."

Kurt grins and shakes his head, nudging Blaine's shoulder. "Yes, you do."

"You're right, I do," Blaine says, smirking. "But good luck getting me to tell you."

They pull onto a street called Shoreline Dr and Blaine pulls into a driveway of a small, wooden home, parking the car. "We're here!"

"We're where?" Kurt asks, laughing.

Blaine opens his car door and gets out, walking across the street to stand on the edge of Lake Erie. Kurt stays in the car, watching his boyfriend for a minute, enjoying the way the sun shines on Blaine's hair, before climbing out after him and crossing the street. When he reaches Blaine, he slips an arm around Blaine's waist and lays his head on Blaine's shoulder. "Whose house did you just park in front of?"

"Mine. Well, technically my parents. It's our lake house. We come here during the summer sometimes. I just thought it was such a pretty day out, and it's May so it's really nice weather. You're so stressed about Nationals lately and I just wanted to have a nice break from Lima, you know?"

Kurt nods on Blaine's shoulder, smiling softly. "I do. I'm sorry I've been preoccupied."

"You don't have to apologize. You're kind of cute when you're stressed. You get all worked up and ramble and pace and stick your tongue out. And you don't even notice you're doing it most times, but when you do, you freeze and frown and that's even cuter."

"So you spend a lot of time watching me, huh?"

"I can't help it. You're adorable."

Kurt turns his head to nuzzle Blaine's shoulder, tilting his head up to place a kiss at the corner of his jaw. "Thank you. It's beautiful out here."

"I thought you'd like it."

They stand together for another moment before Blaine tugs Kurt closer to the water. They sit down on the sand and take their shoes off, letting their feet sit in the water.

"It's so cold!" Kurt says, laughing.

Blaine scoots closer to him on the shore. "It feels good, though."

"Yeah, it does," Kurt says.

Kurt looks out over the lake, admiring the way the sun shines in paths across the water. It's nice to be away for a day, relaxing out at a beautiful view. There are other people scattered along the sand, but this is a remote area, it seems. Not too many people around.

For a while, Kurt gets lost looking out over the water and staring up at the sky. There's a cloud that's vaguely shaped like a bow tie. Kurt smiles to himself, then turns to tell Blaine. He pauses when he sees Blaine already looking at him, eyes warm. "What?"

Blaine keeps smiling. "Nothing. I love the way I can see all your freckles in the sunlight."

"Oh." Kurt bites his lip, glancing down at the sand.

Every time Blaine uses the word 'love' lately, Kurt thinks he's going to say it. Those three words that Kurt's been dying to say for weeks. He's afraid that every time he opens his mouth, they'll just slip out. But they never do. Maybe he's waiting for Blaine to say it first, just to make sure he's not the only one feeling it.

The moment passes. Blaine changes the subject. "So, just let me know when you're hungry. I didn't actually pack anything; we'll have to go out somewhere. I know this pretty good local pizza place."

"Okay," Kurt says, smiling easily. "Whenever you're ready."

"We'll come back," Blaine says. He stands up and extends a hand to Kurt, which Kurt takes.

They walk hand-in-hand down the street, which is risky but Blaine doesn't seem to think it's a problem and he knows the people in the area so Kurt goes with it. It only takes them about fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant. Blaine fills the walk with talk of the neighbors, of the summers he's spent here, of the different ways he's grown up here. Apparently, he and his parents used to come here a lot when Blaine was younger. Blaine took his first steps on the very shore they were sitting on.

When they walk into the restaurant, an older man looks up to greet them. He grins when he sees Blaine and comes around from behind the counter.

"Blaine! It's so good to see you! You're getting so big," he says.

Blaine smiles and lets the man fuss before saying, "Kurt, this is Ronald. He owns the place. Ronald, this is Kurt."

He doesn't say boyfriend, but from the look on Ronald's face he doesn't have to. Ronald nods and shakes Kurt's hand. "It's good to meet you, Kurt."

"You too, Ronald."

"I'll bring something out for you guys soon," Ronald tells them.

"Sounds good," Blaine says.

He directs them to a table by the window and sits on one side. Kurt sits across from him.

"See over there?" Blaine asks, pointing to a door that says EMPLOYEES ONLY.

Kurt nods. "Yeah?"

"On the doorway you can see little pencil marks with dates that show my growth as a kid. I think they go all the way up to a few years ago."

"Really?"

"Yep. Ronald and his wife, Alice, are like a second family to me. I feel bad that I haven't been back here in so long."

"You're back now, though," Kurt says, smiling. "For a little while."

Blaine nods and smiles back. "Yeah. For a little while. I'm glad I brought you here."

"I am too," Kurt says.

And he means it. Blaine bringing him here feels like a big deal. Showing Kurt where he grew up, letting him into his childhood and introducing him to the people that helped shape him. Kurt's cheeks go warm at the thought of it. He's always known that what he has with Blaine is special, but know he knows that Blaine feels the same way.

Ronald comes by with a big supreme pizza ten minutes later. It smells amazing and it's still steaming on the top.

"Boy, Alice is going to be sorry she missed you," Ronald says when he sets it down.

"Where is she?" Blaine asks.

Ronald hooks a thumb behind his shoulder like she's right behind him and says, "She's back at the house. We're doing some renovations and she doesn't trust the workers."

"Of course not," Blaine says, laughing. "Tell her I say hi, okay? And that I'll come back soon."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you always say," Ronald says, ruffling Blaine's hair. It comes loose from the gel and Blaine makes a half-hearted attempt to smooth it back down.

"I mean it this time! I miss it here."

"I'll be sure to tell her."

Ronald heads back to the kitchen and Kurt and Blaine dig into the pizza. They manage to almost eat the entire thing, but not quite. Blaine closes up the box and hands it to Kurt as they get ready to leave.

"I'll be right back," he says.

Kurt waits patiently by the door as Blaine heads towards the back, opening the door that says EMPLOYEES ONLY and slipping through. A few minutes later, he comes back, a little teary-eyed but still smiling. He doesn't say anything, so Kurt doesn't either. The walk back to the house is quieter than the walk to the restaurant. Blaine doesn't fill the silence with stories.

When they make their way back to the house, Blaine heads up and puts the pizza in the backseat of the car before following Kurt back to the shore. They sit in roughly the same spot as earlier, though Kurt's sure they're a little more to the left this time. They're still quiet for a while, but Kurt doesn't mind. He can tell that Blaine is thinking and Kurt doesn't mind sharing thinking silence with him.

Blaine lies down on the sand, reaching his arms behind his head and stretching out. Kurt watches him for a minute and feels the butterflies in his stomach that he felt the first time he met Blaine, when he sang "Teenage Dream." The sun makes Blaine's skin glow a warm honey color, and his hair glints in the sun, accenting the light brown natural highlights. Blaine closes his eyes and Kurt admires the way his eyelashes fan across his cheekbones. When Blaine takes a deep breath in, his chest and stomach rising, Kurt barely resists the urge to lay his head down and feel Blaine lower his body back down, listening to his heartbeat slow. It's then that Kurt decides to lie down next to him.

The movement causes Blaine to blink his eyes open. He turns his head to smile at Kurt. He reaches his hand down and laces their fingers together, pressing his palm to Kurt's. Kurt feels his heart racing in his chest, lying like this with Blaine.

"I love you," Blaine says. His tone is so soft, it's almost like a breath or a sigh. An exhalation of affection.

Kurt's heart slows down, catching up to the moment and recognizing the quietness of it. He pushes himself up on his elbows and leans down to place a kiss on the corner of Blaine's mouth. It's brush of skin, a barely-there kiss, but Kurt smiles when he sees Blaine shiver at the touch. "I love you too."

They stay for a few more hours before Blaine says they should head home. He puts on a different playlist for the ride back to Lima—one more keyed down, with softer ballads and crooning voices. He drops Kurt off at his house, and neither of them say 'I love you' again. It still feels like something sacred. But the look in Blaine's eyes when he says he'll call him later is enough for Kurt to know that Blaine still feels it, and the promise of a later tells Kurt that he always will.


End file.
